Dale Earnhardt Jr. qualified for two of four Chase for the Nextel Cup playoffs while driving for Dale Earnhardt Inc., the company his father founded. A look at how he performed in the last 10 races of the four Chase seasons (qualifying years in bold):

HOMESTEAD, Fla.  The only differences Sunday from other bad work days this season for Dale Earnhardt Jr. were the circumstances and the worn look on his stubbled face.

He succeeded in suppressing emotions in his final race for Dale Earnhardt Inc., the company his late father founded, trying to make it like just another day. Another promising run ended with a 36th-place finish in the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway and closed Earnhardt's first winless season since he began full-time Nextel Cup competition in 2000.

It all seemed to leave Earnhardt too exhausted to describe how tired he was while standing behind his hauler after the race.

"I don't have all my good quotes right now," said Earnhardt, who will join two-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson at powerhouse Hendrick Motorsports next season. "It's over; that's it. … It's good to be finished. I'm ready to relax a little bit and take some weeks (off) and charge my batteries."

Earnhardt, who missed the Chase for the Nextel Cup for the second time in three years and finished 16th in points, perked up when looking ahead to driving for Hendrick. The team is relishing its second consecutive title with Johnson, and four-time champion Jeff Gordon finished 77 points back in second. Kyle Busch, who is leaving for Joe Gibbs Racing and its Toyotas next season to make a spot for Earnhardt, finished fifth in the standings.

Earnhardt foresees having more to work with than he has had recently at DEI, which saw Martin Truex Jr. finish 11th in the Chase. This season was particularly tough, when mechanical issues contributed to six of Earnhardt's nine DNFs (did not finish).

A transmission change after Saturday's first practice forced him to start 41st Sunday after qualifying 13th. Earnhardt moved up to ninth by lap 50 when a series of incidents shuffled him back in the field.

As his No. 8 Chevrolet entered pit road, it slid through the grass before being hit and spun by Busch's car. Earnhardt pulled back onto the track with minimal damage, but NASCAR nailed him for a pit road commitment-cone violation that dropped him a lap down. After the restart on lap 57, he was spun into the wall on the front straightaway after contact with Jeff Burton's car, with the resulting damage leading NASCAR to black-flag Earnhardt on lap 70 for a flapping panel. That caused him to lose another lap.

"I had a great car, got up to (ninth), did y'all see that?" said Earnhardt, who finished six laps down. "Then I got run over by a veteran on the restart. We all try to take care of each other on the racetrack and Jeff Burton was one of the guys I expect that out of the most. He said the sun was in his visor and it was blinding down the first straightaway."

Earnhardt also took some jabs at Busch.

"Kyle was being a jerk running into me, trying to rile me up," Earnhardt said.

Earnhardt's season never unfolded the way he wanted even before his bombshell announcement in May that he would leave DEI. He managed just three top-10s in the first 10 races. He wanted to exit on a high note. He was 16th at the Chase's first stop, at New Hampshire, and followed that with a third at Dover and a 10th at Kansas. He didn't crack the top 10 in the remaining seven races.

After Sunday's event, Earnhardt said goodbye to his crewmembers and there was no end of folks wishing him well in his next chapter. He'll reunite with cousin and crew chief Tony Eury Jr., who will guide him in the No. 88 at Hendrick.

"This whole year has been hard and I don't ever want to do it again," said Earnhardt, who is on a 62-race winless streak. "I want to get to a good place and win races like I know I can.

"I'm anxious to get behind the wheel and stay there, especially with (owner) Rick (Hendrick's) stuff. I'm pretty fortunate to have that opportunity and I can't thank Rick (enough) for believing in me and believing I can win championships. I think they made a great choice and I'm going to try to make him proud."

To report corrections and clarifications, contact Reader Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. had a disappointing season, finishing 16th in points and missing the Chase for the Nextel Cup for the second time in three years.

Conversation guidelines: USA TODAY welcomes your thoughts, stories and information related to this article.
Please stay on topic and be respectful of others. Keep the conversation appropriate for interested readers across the map.